Guyana Times May 24

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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Issue No. 3220

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

PRICE

Frustrated and fed-up

Doctors strike at West Dem Hospital

$80 vat included

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Suspects P14 confess to deadly Corentyne piracy attack – as MCU cracks another case

Page 7

– over poor working conditions, lack of security

GECOM special audit only partially complete – AG

Trinidadian jailed for fraud conspiracy, overstaying

….claims he “lost track of time” in P9 Guyana

Page 10

...work to be done on other discrepancies Pomeroon speedboat operator granted bail for P2 illegal fuel Guyanese man found dead in P16 Trinidad

Sugar workers stand united against closure of Enmore Estate Page 3

– accuse President, PM of making anti-people, anti-working class, anti-children decisions

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) on Tuesday upped protest actions in an effort to reverse Government’s decision to close more sugar estates and leave hundreds more unemployed. They were joined by colleagues, housewives, youths, pensioners, shopkeepers, and others, who are staunchly opposed to plans to close the Enmore/LBI Estate at year-end

Charged with fraud

Deeds Registrar continues to profess her innocence Page 8

– granted $250,000 bail

Govt denies Ramson resources to expose SOCU info Page 2

…is playing a dangerous game with people – Bishop Edghill

$550M drug bust

CANU seeks int’l help on ‘wiped’ video recording P9

2 news

WEDNESDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Govt denies Ramson resources to expose SOCU info … is playing a dangerous game with people – Bishop Edghill

T

he Government of Guyana appears to be deliberately starving the Constitutional Office of the Commissioner of Information, in order to stymie the public’s access to information, by withholding resources.

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill made the damning charges on Tuesday, after learning that the Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson Sr, did not even have the resources to get a letter typed to furnish an Access to Information request under the Access to Information Act. This position was taken following a correspondence from the Commissioner of Information Ramson, in response to a request by Edghill seeking to identify the names of the more than 200 persons that were blacklisted from leaving the coun-

Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson Sr

try by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force.

Ramson on Monday wrote to the PPP/C Member of Parliament acknowledging the request for the list of 200 names of persons

that have been blacklisted from leaving the country by SOCU. According to Ramson – a former Attorney General under the PPP/C Administration – a letter has been prepared to the Commissioner of Police and it shall be delivered after being duly processed digitally.

“As you are aware this exercise has to be outsourced owing to the absence of staff since July 2015,” Ramson stated.

The Commissioner of Information further explained: “My office has not been provided with any officers, employees, etc, by the Minister of Information (Prime Minster Moses Nagamootoo) as is required

by Section 5 of the Access to Information Act 2011.”

Edghill subsequently told Guyana Times, “one could only conclude this is not coincidental, it is not accidental, it is deliberate.”

PPP/C Member of Parliament, Juan Edghill

He was adamant that the purpose of the Commissioner of Information is to ensure all access to information to the people of the country.

According to Edghill, the coalition Government is in fact playing a dangerous

game when it comes to denying people information.

A peeved Edghill recalled for Guyana Times that the initial request was made of the Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud but to no avail.

Bishop Edghill observed that while the Police Commissioner is equipped with the resources and manpower to acquiesce to the request there was not even an acknowledgement while the person empowered under the law – Commissioner of Information Ramson – is being deliberately starved of resources.

He said it would appear that the Administration has triangulated and has hamstrung the office of the Commissioner of Information in not providing adequate staff.

According to Edghill, when he approached Ramson even the guard hut had been nailed shut and while the Information Commissioner was willing to act on the PPP/C member’s request, he complained of a lack of staff and resources.

He said the Administration in its treatment with information is selective and has demonstrated a willingness and capacity to bury information.

The former Government Minister described accessing to information under the current administration as akin to ‘pulling teeth.’

He described as appalling, the dire and difficult circumstances under which the Commissioner of Information is forced to operate. According to Edghill, it is difficult to fathom how a man of such high standing, learning and training, would be allowed to operate in such a state of affairs by a Government who came to office on the promises of transparency and accountability.

He told Guyana Times, “this culture of non-disclo-

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo

sure is annoying and a far cry from what they promised the people.”

Ramson recently filed legal action against Prime Minister and Information Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Attorney General Basil Williams over the withholding of his salary.

Ramson Sr, whose suit was filed for him by his Attorneys Ashton and Pauline Chase, is seeking a declaration that his fundamental right to work was violated by the respondents.

He is also seeking an order for the respondents to continue to pay his salary, emoluments and allowances “until such time as his appointment is revoked lawfully.”

In addition, he is seeking an order for the Prime Minister, the second named respondent, to provide “such accommodation, resources and officers and employees for the efficient functioning of the office of the Commissioner of Information pursuant to Section 5 of the Access to Information Act 2011.”

Ramson and Prime Minster Nagamootoo has been at loggerheads for months with one claiming a lack of resources and the other claiming ‘no money for no work done.’

Pomeroon speedboat operator granted bail for illegal fuel

A

speedboat operator from La Bonair, Lower Pomeroon River, in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) was granted $50,000 bail after she appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce on Monday at the Charity Magistrate’s Court charged with the possession of illegal fuel (gasoline).

The charge stated that around April 26, 2017, the speedboat operator had illegal fuel which was deemed as such since it did not contained the testified marker of concentration.

The court heard that the ‘gas’ was less than one gallon.

Representing the woman was Attorney Haimraj Ramkumar who stated that his client is not a flight risk and has a permanent place of residence. The Police Prosecutor and the agent representing the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) did not object to bail which was thereafter granted at the sum of $50,000 by Magistrate Sunil Scarce.

The matter is expected to be called again on June 5.

(Indra Nathram)

news

BRIDGE OPENINGS The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, May 24 – a night retraction at 03:30h and a day retraction from 14:30h- 16:00h and Thursday, May 25 – a night retraction at 04:00h and a day retraction from 14:30h- 16:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on:

Wednesday, May 24 – 15:35h- 17:05h and Thursday, May 25 – 16:35h-18:05h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times - 05:00h, 11:00h and 16:00h daily

WEATHER TODAY

Weather: Thundery to heavy rain showers can be expected throughout the day, while light to partly cloudy skies can be expected in the evening.

Temperatures should range between 25 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East South-easterly to East North-easterly between 2.23 metres and 4.47 metres.

High Tide: 03:09h and 15:38 reaching maximum heights of 2.80 metres and 2.75 metres respectively.

Sugar workers stand united against closure of Enmore Estate – accuse President, PM of making anti-people, anti-working class, anti-children decisions

T

he Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) on Tuesday urged sugar workers to stand united, as they continue to hold several protest actions in an effort to reverse Government’s new decision to close more sugar estates and leave hundreds more unemployed.

This was the key message to workers of the East Demerara (Enmore) Estate, as they marched through the streets of the community. They were joined by colleagues, housewives, youths, pensioners, shopkeepers, and others, who are staunchly opposed to plans to close the Enmore/LBI Estate at yearend.

The march, which lasted for over an hour, began in the

meaningfully, and let us find a way out. The legacy that is left today will haunt people and those who are doing this will be condemned by history,” Chand stated.

The GAWU Head reminded that Government did not take on board any of the Union’s recommendations that were presented in a 12page paper, which was shared with the Administration in February this year. The Union claimed that the suggestions offered the industry a good possibility to overcome its challenges and remain sustainable.

“Moses Nagamootoo (Prime Minister) and President David Granger must answer for these decisions they are making. These are anti-people, anti-work-

Sugar workers participating in Tuesday’s protest march traversed several streets of Enmore and Foulis on the East Coast of Demerara

can’t stop. If you stop, it’s an indication of weakness. What we need to do is encourage more people to join us, because in the end they all will benefit. This is a struggle,

Low Tide: 09:10h and 21:28h reaching minimum heights of 0.28 metre and 0.47 metre respectively.

Several male sugar workers were seen on their bicycles listening keenly to the addresses from various union representatives during the demonstration exercise in Enmore

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WEDNESDAY, may 24, 2017 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

vicinity of the Enmore Sugar Factory and culminated at the Enmore Blossom Scheme Playground.

Despite the rains which fell intermittently along the route, the participants were not daunted and continued to press on as the gathering grew.

Joining them also were GAWU leaders, who spoke passionately about the need to keep the sugar industry alive, while cautioning the Government that closing the industry would have serious social and economic implications in many communities across the country. In delivering his message to the workers, GAWU President Komal Chand said his Union planned to continue mobilising sugar workers to take part in frequent protests that would hopefully send a strong message to the Government that they would not accept the closure of more estates.

“We can put up a fight and a struggle. And we can force them to come to the table and talk to the Union sensibly,

ing class, anti-children decisions they are making,” he told hundreds of workers at Enmore.

Chand also stated how pleased he was to see that sugar workers and their families were turning out in large numbers to protest the Government’s new policy on the industry, and he encouraged them to continue to participate in these events so that Government would be forced to rethink its decision.

Keep the pressure on

Workers were also told to hold the Government accountable, as it had promised a good life for all Guyanese.

Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) President Carvil Duncan argued that closing the industry and placing workers on the bread line was not a good example of wanting to create that so-called ‘good life’ that the Government would often speak of.

“We have to ensure that we keep the pressure on. We

not only for sugar workers…

If sugar closes, everybody will lose,” he opined.

Duncan accused the Government of lying and said that it did not care about workers, and its main objective was to set super salaries for themselves and their political cronies.

The FITUG President argued that Government should have looked to cut back on unnecessary spending, and use the monies saved to bring the sugar industry to a level of greater efficiency.

Duncan also claimed that Government’s plan to close

the industry was also linked to its attempt to weaken GAWU and the Opposition People’s Progressive Party.

“It’s far beyond the closure of the estates. It’s a situation where they want to control this country and have us live in inefficiency. They want us to live not like a man standing on his feet, but dragging on your belly like a snake,” he remarked.

Only recently, Government announced plans to close two sugar estates, reduce the annual production of sugar, and take on the responsibility of managing the drainage and irrigation services offered by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) as part of a new policy for the sugar industry.

While the Government has indicated its intention to retain as many workers as possible, the closure of these estates still has the potential to create serious economic hardship for hundreds of workers and their families.

GAWU has called for the matter to be debated and discussed with workers and their representative organisations in the industry. The Union also affirmed its position to have affected workers receive their normal work or pay in lieu of work, in the event that Government moved ahead with its decision.

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guyanatimesgy.com

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017

Views Festival of Light and Sound Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063 Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064 Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

A national discourse

O

ver the years, we have seen countless stories reported in the media of some form of gender-based violence, with women especially being at the receiving end of the beatings, and in some cases, even end up being dead. Even though the Government and other stakeholders have been engaged in various efforts to bring the situation under control, it seems as if the killings are far from over.

Just recently, this newspaper reported on the brutal murder of 37-year-old Lindener Shenika London. It was reported that the victim was stabbed multiple times by her husband at her home at Amelia’s Ward, Mackenzie, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice). It should be mentioned that the woman’s youngest child who is two years old reportedly witnessed the entire episode.

In another recent case, a 26-year-old teacher, Tishaun Bess was found dead in a house at Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara. Her lifeless body was found hanging from the ceiling of her apartment days after she went missing. Relatives claimed that the relationship shared between the woman and her partner was an abusive one. As such, despite the incident initially appearing to be an act of suicide, they speculated that foul play was involved.

It could be recalled too that not so long ago, 29-year-old Dhanwantie Ram, a Parika resident, was found strangled on a sofa, with a bed sheet wrapped around her neck. The woman’s husband of 12 years was arrested for the crime. Here again, reports indicate that the victim and the suspect shared an abusive relationship. Owing to the abuse, the woman was forced to leave her marital home with her three children a few days before she was killed.

These, of course, are just a few of the latest in a slew of cases that have taken the country by storm. The victims’ stories have been heart-breaking as many of them were killed after years of abuse and perhaps with very little help from those who should have provided the much-needed support mechanisms. The bottom line is that something must be done urgently to arrest the situation as it is clear that what currently obtains have not been very effective.

We believe that there is an urgent need for all stakeholders, led by the Government, to commence a national discourse on the issue once more. The aim should be to reassess and modify current strategies taking into account the lessons learnt from past experiences. While protection orders have been effective to an extent, quite often the abusers do not abide by them; hence, the need to undertake an urgent review of mechanisms currently in place to protect women from being killed. It should be noted that on the day Ram was killed, she was making her way to the Police Station to lodge a report against her husband whom she had a restraining order against. She is not the only woman for whom a restraining order proved ineffective; there is also the case of Bhartie Udho, who was attacked and brutally chopped late last year. At the time of her death, a restraining order had been initiated against her partner as well.

Violence against women and children has tremendous costs to communities and nations, and can remain with women and children for a lifetime. If not dealt with effectively, it can also pass from one generation to another. Numerous recommendations were made to the previous and current Administrations, yet nothing much has been forthcoming. It is, therefore, time for policymakers and other stakeholders to revisit the issue and come up with practical solutions to tackle the scourge in a holistic manner with greater focus on the root of the problem.

Over the years, the United Nations has been pushing countries towards implementing proactive measures to combat domestic violence. These measures have included criminalising gender-based violence, massive public awareness campaigns and providing training to equip both men and women to act as first responders and to support victims of the scourge at the community level.

Additionally, this newspaper had stated before that one of the greatest challenges Guyana faced in countering domestic violence was in changing the attitudes of service providers – such as Police, Magistrates, social workers, and healthcare providers. Importantly too is that the lackadaisical attitude of neighbours, relatives and others who are, in most cases, aware of domestic abuse cases, but yet choose to remain silent needs to change. Everyone needs to be proactive in their response to the scourge.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge can be seen behind a visitor at a preview of Taronga Zoo's illuminated endangered animal sculptures walking past the Port Jackson shark and green turtle display at sunset, part of Vivid Sydney Festival of Light and Sound (REUTERS/David Gray)

GAWU will stand resolutely to support workers’ rights Dear Editor, The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) has taken note of similar letters appearing in the May 21, 2017 Kaieteur News and on May 22 Stabroek News captioned “GAWU must show what ‘added value’ it brings to the partnership with GuySuCo” and “GAWU’s priority seems not to be workers’ representation but to mobilise around another cause”, respectively, which was authored by the Corporation’s Senior Communication Officer, Ms Audreyanna Thomas.

Our union cannot fail to express our concern over the unusually strong language which was used by the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) Officer but we see the missive as another desperate attempt to cast aspersions on our union for its principled stance in defending sugar workers, their families and the people and communities linked to those estates that will be adversely affected by the Government’s recent disclosure on the future of the sugar industry.

The GuySuCo letter begins by calling attention to the large participation by Guyanese from all walks of life in a march on May 16, 2017, opposing plans by the Corporation and the Government to close the Rose Hall Estate at yearend. While our union is being branded as having “lost its way”, we rightfully contend that wouldn’t any right-thinking union seek to protect the well-being of its members and their families when they are being pushed onto the breadline? It seems, from our point of view, that the large turnout in the march and the solidarity it received has bruised the egos of some ‘important’ people and the Corporation’s letter is by all means an attempt at a futile ‘defence’.

The Sugar Corporation then goes on to scapegoat GAWU and the sugar workers for the Corporation’s current sad state-of-affairs but we hasten to ask how it is that production this year is expected to reach only 198,000 tonnes despite some $32 billion being invested by the State into the industry since 2015? The workers and the Union are not involved in the day-to-day decision-making which is said now-a-days to be concentrated at the very top.

Certainly, the workers and GAWU cannot and should not be blamed for the obvious shortcomings which have been glaringly aggravated in recent times.

GuySuCo in seeking to defend its indefensible positions has drawn attention to the number of strikes between 2001 and 2016. Our union reiterates that the bulk of the strikes are related to price disputes which are legitimised in the Recognition and the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes Agreement and concerns additional payment to undertake tasks in weedy and grassy fields. Such disputes will arise naturally and calls attention to the Corporation’s inability to cultivate sufficient quantities of cane.

This is aptly borne out in the tonnes of cane per hectare (TcH) statistics. GuySuCo, earlier this year advised the Parliamentary Economic Services Committee that last year, its TcH was around 56, this is far from an acceptable TcH of between 75 and 85. In the absence of canes, there will be a proliferation of vines and weeds in the cane fields and thus make workers tasks even more difficult and time consuming and thus resulting in demands for extra payments.

Interestingly, the Corporation’s missive states that “GuySuCo did not ar-

rive at this deteriorated state overnight, this is the result of years of decline in several aspects of the business to which GAWU has and still is directly contributing.” In using the Corporation’s strike figures for the period 2001-2016, the Union wishes to state that the second lowest number of ‘man days’ lost through strikes in the said period was recorded in 2013 (38,121), but the second lowest production since 1990 (186,000) was recorded in 2013. So in what way did GAWU directly contributed to such meagre production?

Our union requests for the public edification a breakdown of the number of strikes by number and percentage to show the strikes and ‘man days’ that were lost under the category “condition of work” for the period 2001-2016. This will illustrate the magnitude of strikes associated with the sub-optimal condition of the cane fields.

From the Corporation’s strike data, we find it interesting too that in 2016 while production was the lowest since 1990, the number of man days lost as a result of strikes was 66 per cent lower than the peak in 2009. We ask: doesn’t the Corporation find it perplexing that in 2016 it had the third least number of strike days in 16 years yet production sunk to a lowest in 26 years? The strike argument seems less and less convincing. Indeed it confirms the adage that the devil is in the details.

We agree that sugar production and more so maximum production and revenue must always be the Corporation’s intention.

But, at the same time, the Corporation cannot fail to recognise the role of its workforce in achieving such feats.

The haughty and arrogant approach by the Corporation hierarchy, therefore, cannot be helpful in this regard.

GuySuCo also refers to the turnout of planters and cane cutters in 2016. But this is telling only half of the story.

What the Corporation conveniently fails to mention is that mechanisation in both cane harvesting and cane planting are assisting in improving productivity and reducing costs. For example, cane cutters who cut canes which are mechanically loaded tend to cut twice as much as compared to when they are required to cut and load their canes. Of course such a situation is also premised on a ready supply of canes. Many times this, however, is often not the case. In such situations, workers must be engaged, sometimes, in drawn out negotiations to secure additional payments to harvest canes in fields infested by grass, weeds and vines which only serve to frustrate workers, and deter their productivity.

The workers’ turnout also cannot be disconnected to the denial of pay rises in 2015 and 2016; the denial of Annual Production Incentive in 2016 as well as the arbitrary change, in several instances, to long standing work practices. We ask again doesn’t the Corporation find it strange that the turnout is what it is when employment opportunities diminish by the day. Again, we urge the Corporation to consult the textbooks on labour supply theory which advises what to expect when wage rates are stifled.

It is a known fact that the majority of sugar workers are far from being fully employed throughout the year.

GuySuCo may wish to publish the statistic of the number of days per year an average worker is offered work at their regular pay level, and the statistic should differentiate the seasons of, in and outof-crop.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 5

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credible is Rice farmers voted for $9000 a bag paddy How GPL Chairman

Dear Editor, In a Guyana Times report on parliamentary affairs (May 12) , and in the Stabroek News (May 20) as well as in the Chronicle, Prime Minister (PM) Moses Nagamootoo denied that the coalition Government ever promised rice farmers $9000 per bag of paddy.

Then it is incumbent upon the PM to explain how and why farmers all over the country mentioned a promise of $9K for daan (paddy) as a reason for voting for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition.

SN did not carry this response.

Prior to the May 2015 elections, many Indian rice farmers and their families told me they were voting APNU/AFC because of a commitment from the coalition leadership of $9000 a bag for “daan” (paddy).

I travelled around the rice belt throughout the country just prior to general elections querying about how voters intended to vote for the NACTA poll.

The message to the rice farmers was the same everywhere – $9000 a bag for paddy.

In all fairness to the PM, I personally did not hear Prime Ministerial Candidate Nagamootoo or Presidential

Candidate David Granger specifically say (on a campaign platform) they were guaranteeing $9000 a bag for paddy. But the leadership and their campaign workers made the rice farmers feel they were cheated by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime on rice prices (as per the VenezuelaGuyana rice agreement). I interacted with AFC campaign workers in Essequibo Coast, West Berbice and on the Corentyne and they mentioned the rice farmers were entitled to $9000 a bag for paddy based on the agreement with Venezuela. That was an astounding sum that was simply not practical based on my calculation of price per unit under the Venezuela agreement and the amount of daan needed for a bag of “chaaor” (rice); before leaving for study abroad, I assisted my siblings on rice operations (on the field, in the mills, and in the market) and as such am familiar with practical pricing. The campaign workers (with instruction from the leadership perhaps) must have told the farmers they would get $9000 a bag, and farmers must have fallen for the propaganda.

Nine thousand dollars a bag for daan was simply not practi-

cal and I even told some farmers and AFC about my view on that number.

Everywhere I travelled , there were talks among farmers on the Essequibo Coast, the islands, West Coast, East Coast, West Berbice, Corentyne, etc, that they would get $9000 a bag for daan. How was it that all the farmers (all over the country) had “$9000 per bag” stuck in their head?

Someone would have had to instruct the activists and ground campaign workers to spread that message. Where did it come from? Did all the activists and campaign workers come up with that number on their own? Did all of them come up with the same evaluation of the Venezuela agreement that that the farmers were being cheated by the PPP regime?

Wouldn’t someone have had to instruct the activists to spread that propaganda to win votes?

That was one of the reasons so many farmers and their families (equivalent of about six seats) voted for the coalition giving it the Government. The farmers also told me that the coalition spokesperson guaranteed them a market for rice.

Subsequently, in Government, both Nagamootoo and Granger

GAWU will stand resolutely...

The statistic should clearly show whether GuySuCo is offering work that could adequately sustain an employee’s financial and economic needs.

It should be pointed out that contractually, workers are required to work 80 per cent of the work days available to them to work to qualify for certain benefits and continuous employment, and they generally have always qualified. So, let’s see how many days per year has GuySuCo been offering work to the majority of workers per year, and since they are very good at providing statistic, this request should be quite easy.

Ms Thomas also speaks to the refusal by cane planters of Enmore/La Bonne Intnetion (LBI) to take up cane cutting tasks. We urge the Corporation’s Officer to consult her superiors on this matter. She would learn that there are certain jobs that planters would undertake whenever they are not required to plant canes. Cane cutting is not one of those tasks. The Corporation’s Communication Officer would also be made aware that arising out of a meeting with the Corporation and the Union, GuySuCo undertook to provide the planters their usual non-planting tasks. That undertaking was, however, betrayed. On this score, would it be fair to ask Ms Thomas and her colleagues at the GuySuCo Head Office as employees of the Corporation to undertake cane cutting tasks at Enmore/LBI or any other estate. Certainly, this would be outside of their competence and abilities and they would, under any circumstance, bluntly refuse such instruction. We remind GuySuCo what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Our union is also criticised by GuySuCo for advising the Wales workers – cane cut-

ters and cane transport operators – of their rights as outlined by the Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act (TESPA). You should know Ms Thomas that our union is obligated legally and morally to advice workers of their rights. Moreover, how could our union knowingly set a precedent which runs contrary to the laws of the land?

That would be foolhardy on the Union’s part. Moreover, while GuySuCo talks about the seeming desperate need by Uitvlugt for the Wales workers, we ask that if this was indeed the case how is it that Uitvlugt’s workforce was able to harvest all of that estate’s canes, without any assistance from Wales, and then went on to assist at Enmore/LBI? We are supportive of the Corporation’s intention to have Uitvlugt producing 40,000 tonnes sugar. Our union does not want to see advanced any further thought of additional estate closures though the Corporation’s language can be considered as threatening.

At the same time, we ask why similar approaches can’t be taken with other estates towards improving production and productivity.

Our union, as we have said umpteen times, is committed to seeing the sugar industry succeed and overcoming its difficulties and challenges.

We have publicly shared our thoughts on how such feats could be reached. The GAWU also has grave reservations about GuySuCo thoughts on sugar’s future as enunciated in the recently released ‘State Paper’. We strongly hold that it will do more harm than good. Those ideas, if implemented, will serve to destroy the well-being of thousands of poor, ordinary Guyanese and upset significantly the social fabric in many communities across the sugar belt. We ask

said finding market for rice and farm products is not Government business.

As we now learn (hindsight 20/20), without the promise of the $9000 a bag and a guaranteed market, the rice farmers may very well have stuck it out with the PPP because they were getting an average of $5000 a bag as opposed to now when they are getting below $2000 – operating at a loss. Venezuela was a guaranteed market for the rice. In more recent travels to the same areas around the country, rice farmers, and others as well, now say they are disappointed that the coalition broke promises made to them.

Instead of only denials, the coalition leadership should tender some kind of regret to the rice farmers for the low paddy price and make a genuine effort to offer a subsidy per bag to rice farmers so they can reduce losses. The farmers claim they have suffered huge losses since the change in Government in May 2015. Shouldn’t the Government try to assist the farmers instead of only issuing denials that they did not guarantee $9000?

Yours truly, Dr Vishnu Bisram

from page 4

how any organisation can be supportive of such plans?

We see the Corporation’s missive as the beating of a worn out drum. GAWU would not be daunted by the spurious attacks that are levelled on us. We will continue to hold steadfastly to those principles which have guided us since our inception and which have served us well during our existence and will not cower in the face of adversity and challenges which is, essentially, an assault on thousands of workers in the sugar industry and

which threaten their jobs and livelihoods and affects also our country’s economy. We shall forever stand resolutely to support the workers whenever their rights are being trampled upon, and in this sense GAWU finds that the Corporation is seemingly worried on this principled stance.

Yours faithfully, Seepaul Narine General Secretary Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU)

Robert Badal?

Dear Editor, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” - Matthew 7:2 Chairman of GPL, coalition financier Robert Badal, has accused former President and Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo of having an “irresponsible, deceitful nature”.

He was alluding to Jagdeo’s contention that GPL has accumulated the sum of an estimated $20 billion “… because they (GPL) did not lower the price of electricity when the price of fuel fell on the world market” (proportionate to the drop of fuel prices).”

Jagdeo asserted at a recent press conference that, “… They (GPL) have collected from ordinary citizens, and our businessmen, some $20B more than they should have collected in two years from us, and it is sitting in an account at GPL.” ‘Some’ being the operative word, because the figure Jagdeo quoted was estimated from various factors.

Badal’s denouement of Jagdeo’s averment begs the question of why did he not correct Jagdeo by supplying the actual figure, given the fact of his admission that, “… GPL has achieved a significant improvement in its financial position.” So then why disdainfully dismiss our expectations of accountability by not providing us with the real figure? Give us the true sum, Mr Chairman.

It is quite interesting that GPL’s Chairman saw it necessary to debunk the

Opposition Leader’s claim, while notably remaining silent on a number of other GPL-related issues.

Badal needs to tell us when will this promised improvement in the delivery of reliable electricity to households and businesses be effected? We are tired of the blackouts, the power interruptions and the voltage fluctuations: Why are you silent on the issue of the award of a tender to a contractor for more than $1 billion above the lowest bid received?

Remember you promised good governance, transparency and accountability: Why are you not forthcoming on the actual acquisition costs of electricity to the national grid from the proposed “Hope Wind Farm Project”?

Does this make good business sense? Do you have a view, or are you making accommodation for another political investor to get a windfall?

Sir, if you are to retain any credibility you must inform the public of the acquisition cost of fuel today, as compared to prior prices; and the actual cost of generating electricity today; as well as the reason rates have not been adjusted accordingly, subsequent to the last rebate.

Please publicly declare the amount of money being deposited, on a monthly basis, to the ‘Foregone Revenue Account’ of GPL. Hope to hear from you, Mr Chairman; your credibility is on the line. The customers of GPL await your response.

Yours truly, Bishop J Edghill PPP/C MP

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Foundation

How to say sorry: A

guyanatimesgy.com

friend’s three-year-old son is still developing his ability to regulate his emotions. He can go from being ecstatic, to devastated, to furious, in the span of a few minutes.

During one pre-dinner meltdown last week, he started yelling and kicking his toys around the room. After he calmed down, mom asked him to clean up “Sorry, Mama,” his the mess he made. he said as he “Sorry, Mama,” he said as he cleaned up. cleaned up.

The child admitted he was The child wrong by apologising, but will admitted he an apology prevent the situation was wrong by from happening again? What a p o l o g i s i n g , does a parent do when “I’m sorbut will an ry” isn’t enough?

Parents often ask apology prevent Empowering Parents Coaches the situation how to handle it when their from happening child’s outbursts or behaviours again? What does cause real damage – either physor emotional. In these situa parent do when ical ations, a simple apology isn’t “I’m sorry” isn’t enough for the child to make amends. enough?

Cleaning up a messy room is one thing, but as children grow up, the “messes” they make can grow with them. In order to develop effective problem-solving skills for adulthood, children need to take an extra step and explain what they’ll do differently next time.

Here are three ways you can teach your child how to apologise, learn accountability and develop problem-solving skills.

Watch out for, “I’m Sorry But…” Kids (and adults!) can use an apology as a way to justify their behaviour or place blame on someone else. Take a look at these examples: “I’m sorry, but you made me angry!”; “I’m sorry, but he started it!”

If your child falls into this habit, do not accept the apology. It’s great that they are remorseful for their behaviour, but that is just the first step. Instead of saying, “I’m sorry, but…”

A more effective statement is, “It was wrong to… Next time…”

Here’s what that sounds like: “It was wrong to call you names. Next time I’ll walk away

How to talk with children about the Ariana Grande concert attack and take some space to get my emotions under control.”

It takes practice to change the “I’m Sorry But…” habit in children. To start, you can point out when it happens and require an “It was wrong to… Next time…” statement as part of a conversation around consequences, which should follow your child’s acting out behaviour.An effective consequence holds your child accountable and has him/her practise and demonstrate the skills they need to make a better decision next time.

Add an amends as part of the consequence. Making amends simply means righting the wrong. If your son gets in trouble for his rude statements to a teacher, you can require that he write a letter of apology explaining how he’ll act differently in the future, in addition to the consequence he receives at school. If your daughter’s risky behaviour results in damage to your car, you can restrict her driving privileges for a specific length of time and require her to do some work to pay for the damages.

Give it time. Children can do things that really hurt and disappoint us – it’s okay to feel sad or frustrated when this happens. Children are not very patient with the discomfort that can come from seeing you upset.

You’ll find them saying things like, “I said I was sorry…what else do you want?!”Give yourself some time.

Once you give a consequence and require your child to make amends, you’ve done your part to address the situation. Find someone to talk to who can give you the support you need.

Remember that the most powerful lessons come to us when things feel challenging.

(Empoweringparents.com)

– 5 tips for what parents of young fans can say about the explosion

By Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD

T

he facts are still emerging about exactly what happened with the explosion at the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 in Manchester, England, which left at least 22 dead and many more injured. But millions of parents are already facing the sickening question: “How do I talk to my kids about this?”

Ariana’s fan base is mostly tweens and teens, so this tragedy, like many others that target young people, seems particularly heartless. A concert should be fun and exciting, not a scene of terror and heartbreak.

As parents, we want to give our children a safe world.

The wrenching reality is that there’s no such thing as complete safety. So what can we tell our kids?

Share the facts

If your child is a fan, it will be easier for your child to hear the news from you than from peers or social media. Get information from reliable news sources and share general facts, as they emerge. Emphasise that Ariana was not hurt.

You may also need to check in with your child by asking, “What have you heard?” Kids talk, and sometimes they mishear or misunderstand news events. Asking what your child has heard gives you the opportunity to correct misinformation and perhaps allay unnecessary fears.

Make plans to limit exposure to vivid and upsetting media

With young children, it’s easy to limit their media exposure. With tweens and teens who have access to cellphones, tablets, and laptops, you’ll need to talk with them and let them take part in deciding what forms of media they can handle about this event. Printed information is less vivid than pictures, which are less vivid than video. Older kids may also need to consider how much news monitoring they want to do regarding this story. Watching nonstop replays of tragedy isn’t healthy for anyone. Explain to your child that it isn’t disloyal or uncaring to step away from the news at some points. It's smart self-care.

Talk about the difference between fear and reasonable caution

When tragedy strikes unexpectedly, it’s easy to jump to conclusion that no one is ever safe, anywhere, and that violence is everywhere, all the time. Help your child understand that the vast majority of concert-goers do not experience violence. Living in a state of constant fear is far too limiting.

It may help to use the example of driving in a car. Yes, it’s possible that you might get into an accident, but it’s not likely. Do some Maths with your child to prove this. How many car trips do you take a day on average? How many days have you driven in your lifetime? How many accidents have you been in? So, while the probability of getting into an accident isn’t zero, it’s definitely not a frequent occurrence.

Explain to your child that if you lived governed by fear, you’d give up driving anywhere. The cost of doing that is too high. Instead, you choose to exercise reasonable caution. You obey traffic signals, stay alert to the traffic around you, and don’t text and drive, but you drive to get where you want to go.

Seek out examples of goodness

As we hear more about the tragedy, we’ll also learn more about acts of kindness in response to the tragedy. Already, there are accounts of people near the Manchester arena opening their homes to concert-goers. There will be more stories of people helping others to get out, caring for the injured, and relaying information to frightened family members. Tell your child these stories to show that there’s more good than evil in the world.

Find ways to take positive action

Most of us feel better when we can do something about a problem. Help your child figure out some accessible ways to take action to fight violence in our world. Possibilities include: becoming involved in a school anti-bullying programme, raising money for local emergency workers, or praying for the victims and survivors of this tragedy. (psychologytoday.com)

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wednesDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Frustrated and fed-up

Doctors strike at West Dem Hospital – over poor working conditions, lack of security

D

octors attached to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) on Tuesday morning refused to commence duties at the facility, taking strike action as a result of failure on the part of the Public Health Ministry to address their numerous concerns.

The hospital was in a state of panic when all doctors of the medical facility downed their equipment and refused to work.

Guyana Times understands that the doctors, via a letter sent to their medical superintendent which

sponse was given.

The letter which was seen by this publication stated, “…this letter serves to inform you that the staff of the Accident and Emergency Unit of the West Demerara Regional Hospital are disappointed, frustrated, disgusted and fed-up of the way in which our daily verbal grievances are being handled. To date we have not seen any measures implemented within our department to alleviate our struggles or worries”.

The letter continues, “the staffers of the

since supportive structure and drugs are on regular shortage or absent. They no longer feel the need to go above and beyond because they feel that the administrative body does not care and have swept all of their relevant and legitimate concerns aside”.

According to a source at the hospital, the doctors were calling for better security at the facility following a number of incidents where doctors were either physically attacked or verbally abused by patients and others.

In fact, a recent inci-

been calling for the Public Health Ministry to tighten security services at the facility.

In addition, the doctors reportedly are also calling for better sanitation at the hospital, tools to work with and for the current drug shortage issue to be rectified.

However, many letters written to the Public Health Ministry reportedly got no reply, thus the strike action taken by the medical staff.

When this publication visited the hospital on Tuesday, a large number of

One of the doctors' sections empty as a result of the strike

patients were seen in the waiting area.

Some of them indicated to this newspaper that they had been waiting for

hours but were told that none of the doctors would be working.

Meanwhile, the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Three (Essequibo IslandsWest Demerara), Dennis Jaikarran along with a representative from the Public Health Ministry visited the hospital and held a meeting with the doctors.

However, when contacted for an outcome of that engagement, the REO asked that all questions be directed to the Region’s Health Officer, Dr Naail Uthman.

But when contacted, the RHO referred questions back to the REO and the Health Ministry stating they are his superiors.

When questioned first,

Patients waiting while the doctors were on strike at the West Demerara Hospital on Tuesday

was copied and sent to all levels, outlined a number of concerns that are currently affecting them and vowed to strike if no re-

Emergency Unit no longer feel safe in their working environment. They no longer feel motivated to provide the best patient care

dent saw two doctors being attacked by a patient and his relatives and were even spat upon.

The doctors have since

Uthman said “what incident? Oh that incident, well you have to either speak with the REO or the Public Health Ministry”.

He further added: “They are my superiors and I am just doing what I was told to do”.

Nevertheless, the source informed this publication that in the meeting, none of the concerns raised by the doctors were addressed; instead, they were told that their salaries would be cut for the day and the same would persist if they do not report for duty.

Guyana Times also made attempts to speak with Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence, but these proved futile.

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wednesDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Charged with fraud

Deeds Registrar continues to profess her innocence

– granted $250,000 bail

R

egistrar of the Deeds Registry, Azeena Baksh, was on Tuesday morning arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on a fraud charge.

The 33-year-old pregnant woman with her Attorney, Nigel Hughes, appeared before Magistrate McLennan and pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that while being employed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in the capacity of Acting Registrar appointee, between May 1, 2014 and January 31, 2017, she procured valuable securities to the sum of $4,534,486 to be delivered to her Bank of Nova Scotia account, for her own use and benefit, under the false pretence that she was an employee at the Deeds Registry.

Hughes, in his bail application, requested that his client be released on her own recognisance, adding that the

Azeena Baksh with her Attorney, Nigel Hughes at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts

woman was ordered to take bed rest as she is in the final trimester of her pregnancy. According to the lawyer, Baksh poses no risk of flight as she at all times cooperated with officials during the course of the investigation, reportedly being released on self-bail by Police.

The court also heard that Baksh “strongly professes her innocence”, while her lawyer

requested bail in these special circumstances.

Police Prosecutor Arvin Moore did not object to bail, provided that it is granted in a substantial sum along with the conditions that all travel documents be lodged with relevant authorities and to have the accused report to Mr Reed at the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) every Friday at 09:00h.

Hughes, in response to the proposed conditions, contended that it is unreasonable to have his client report to the same officer who released Baksh on her own recognisance in the first place. The lawyer argued that the officials have absolute confidence in the accused’s court attendance pending the outcome of the trial, as she had publicly expressed her desire to clear her name. According to media reports, the Legal Affairs Ministry, which is headed under Attorney General Basil Williams, outlined that Baksh “allegedly unlawfully paid herself a higher salary than was approved by the JSC.” It is alleged that upon her appointment as the Deeds Registrar in 2012, Baksh received a salary of $326,171, increasing same to $400,000 in 2014 when the Deeds Registry was merged with the Commercial Registry, without the approval of the JSC. Moreover, being the sole authority to sign off on such documents, Baksh appropriated gratuity to herself among several staff during the period of May 2014 to November 2016.

Baksh was released on $250,000 bail pending the outcome of the trial.

She returns to court on June 6.

Pappy show…

Y

… on CoI’s our Eyewitness has to give a “hat tip” to EB John for critiquing the pappy show the Government’s been putting on the Commissions of Inquiry they’ve conducted. Most recently, he honed in to the one into the public service. The question one is forced to ask is, what really was the purpose of these CoI’s? Were they just stabs in the dark to justify decisions already made?

For sure, the implemented recommendations by the CoI’s can be counted on the finger of one hand. That’s just not good enough for the hundreds of millions expended – and the elevated expectations aroused in their supporters. And even the few implemented – like the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service – fell woefully short of what was envisaged. We’ve already spoken of the jump in contract employees in the public service rather than the reductions recommended – and if their pre-election rhetoric were to be believed – what the Government wanted!

But the CoI into sugar takes the cake. Here the government unilaterally rushed into a miniaturisation of the industry against the explicit recommendations of the CoI – starting with the closure of Wales Estate. Criticised for not following up with all the “diversifications” they’d unleash to absorb the 1700 workers there, this is the best the PR hack of GuySuCo could come up with: “Is it really possible for the corporation to not have developed a strategic programme to address employment and other matters arising out of the restructuring programme?”

Well….yes!!! We don’t have to wonder about the answer to that question – the proof would be in the actions. Just don’t talk – show the sugar workers what the plan is by rolling it out! The PR flak posed the question because of the sugar union’s protests in Berbice. Well, can you blame the Berbice workers after they can see what’s happening at Wales?? Namely NOTHING!? Where’s the rice fields the cane fields were going to be transformed into? Where’s the “other crops”? Where’s even an office to rent or lease lands to workers.

Why should the Berbice workers buy a pig in a poke when they’ve already seen it was just a rat squealing in the poke named “Wales Plans”? These people really believe that old saw – that all Berbicians are mad just because the mad House is located there. But the Government’s clearly unaffected about the sugar workers protests.

They can march all they want out in Berbice in the sun…it’s far away from the government’s air-conditioned offices in Georgetown.

They’ve got to take a leaf out of the Parking Metres Protestors” playbook! Hit Georgetown!! …in Administration How many times must this PNC-led APNU/AFC twist the law into a pretzel before its supporters begin to understand eventually they’ll soon become targets??

Have they learnt nothing from the PNC’s first go around?

In the beginning everything was sweet; with much “skin teeth” all around. But by the time “white mouth crept in”, “too late!!” was the cry. Remember that old saying about history coming back as “farce”??

The latest farce was, before the ink was even dry on the GPSU’s Presidential ballots – and charges of “rigging” were flying fast and furious about Patrick Yarde’s claim he remained President of the GPSU – Prezzie appointed him Chairman of the Public Service Commission. This was too much for even some diehard Govt partisans. The PPP didn’t even have to comment!!

How’d you place the man who’s supposed to REPRESENT public servants, head the Commission that’s supposed to DISCIPLINE them??

Especially when among the said public servants, are some who dared to challenge Yarde!!

Payback’s a bi*ch!! …Indentureship Symposium at Umana Suppose you arranged a symposium and nobody heard or reported it, did it happen?? The question arises with the IAC symposium on Indentureship where half-adozen Government officials spoke.

Did the IAC goof by having the Government celebrate immigration – at a space dedicated to our Indigenous peoples?

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

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wednesDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Trinidadian jailed for fraud CANU seeks int’l help on conspiracy, overstaying ‘wiped’ video recording – claims he “lost track of time” in Guyana $550M drug bust

A

T

he Customs AntiNarcotics Unit (CANU) is currently seeking international assistance to recover a deleted video recording that was obtained from one of the suspects in the ongoing probe into the recent $550 million cocaine bust at Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.

CANU in a statement on Tuesday disclosed that while

The cocaine that was found in the lumber

national assistance in retrieving the data that may have been therein.” Following the May 12, 2017 bust, CANU ranks had initially arrested popular motorcar racer, Nazim Gafoor and Haleem Mohamed. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Gafoor’s father, Tazim, a

pending the outcome of the investigations.Meanwhile, superbike racer Stephen Vieira was arrested last week, while investigators are still looking for sawmill owner Narine Lall, who is reportedly out of the jurisdiction. CANU is asking anyone with information of Lall’s whereabouts to make

Naraine Lall

Tazim Gafoor

West Coast Demerara businessman. However, they were released on Thursday last, but are required to visit CANU Headquarters on a daily basis

contact with the nearest Police station and/or CANU Headquarters on telephone number 226-0431.

Nazim Gafoor

the suspects who were arrested in connection with the multimillion-dollar drug bust have been released from custody, the investigation is still incomplete. In fact, the country’s premier drug enforcement agency revealed, “CANU still has a Digital Video Recording device retrieved from Nazim Gafoor at Vreed-en-Hoop (WCD) that has been discovered to have been ‘wiped’ and as such CANU is now seeking inter-

TURN TO PAGE 16

Trinidadian designer now faces two years in jail after pleading guilty to forgery and immigration charges at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday morning.

Arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan was Daniel Ali, 32, who admitted to the charge which read that between January 3, 2017 and May 19, 2017, he conspired with persons to forge one Guyana driver’s licence in favour of himself bearing the name of Seelall Madiah, purporting to show that it had been issued by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

In addition, he pleaded guilty to the charge which stated that on March 23, 2017 at the Central Immigration and Passport Office, for the purposes of procuring a passport, he signed a declaration in the name of Seelall Madiah, knowing same to be false.

Finally, between June 23, 2014 and May 20, 2017, he failed to comply with conditions subject to which any permit had been granted, that is to say having been permitted to stay from December 24, 2013

Jailed: Daniel Ali

to June 23, 2014, he overstayed the said period.

Based on the prosecution’s facts, the defendant arrived in the country via the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on December 24, 2013 and was given permission to stay in the jurisdiction until June 23, 2014.

It is alleged that Ali visited the Central Immigration and Passport Office on March 15, 2017 to apply for a Guyanese passport and checks revealed that he had overstayed for a period of two years. Moreover, Ali had allegedly presented documents bearing the name of Seelall Madiah,

but upon the launch of an investigation it was discovered that his correct name was Daniel Ali. Prosecutor Arvin Moore related that the man was subsequently arrested and charged with the offences.

Ali had reportedly told officials that the licence was sold to him by someone he knew only as “Ryan” for some $200,000. He also told the court on Tuesday that he was aware that the licence was fake and not issued by the GRA. When the Magistrate asked him why he overstayed, Ali said, “I lost track of time…”, while readily admitting to the offences and apologising for his actions.

The designer was fined $30,000 for overstaying and sentenced to one year each in relation to the conspiracy and signing to a written declaration using a false name respectively.

These jail terms will run consecutively.

Guyana Times understands that Ali is reportedly wanted for fraud and larceny back in his home country of Trinidad and Tobago. (Paula Gomes)

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guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, may 24, 2017

News

GECOM special audit only partially complete – AG …work to be done on other discrepancies

S

ince being launched last year after millions of dollars in discrepancies were discovered with purchasing of electronic items, the audit into the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is yet to be completed.

According to Auditor General Deodat Sharma, the process has been one involving extensive interviews with officials. And he said that at least one report which examined purchases of Very High Frequency (VHF) radios was completed.

“One report, the one on the radios, has been completed and sent to the Commissioners,” Sharma stated in an interview with this publication. “We are still continuing the other aspects (of the audit). That (includes) the purchase of the pliers and the toners.”

The Auditor General affirmed that the work of his office has not been impeded by officials from GECOM. While he could not give a definitive end date for the audit, he stated that it would soon be completed.

The special audit was launched last year after the Audit Office of Guyana reportedly noticed some discrepancies with the purchasing of 50 VHF communication radios by GECOM for close to $100 million. The purchases, which had occurred prior to the May 2015 General and Regional Elections, raised concerns over the extraordinarily high cost of the equipment. The investigation’s scope had included contracts and inventories, in addi-

The Guyana Elections Commission

tion to spending for the May 2015 General and Regional Elections.

It is understood that auditors were working from GECOM’s head office in High Street, Kingston. Besides the radios, some of the things that the State’s auditors were looking into were the purchase of a quantity of toners, pliers and batteries.

Based on reports, the radio sets were purchased for use during the 2015 General and Regional Elections, particularly in the outlying regions of Guyana; however, they were never put into use after it was discovered many of them were not working.

Later, information surfaced that while the electoral body would have collected quotations from a number of suppliers, it handed the contract for the supply of the equipment to Mobile Authority, a company owned by a Water Street, Georgetown businessman.

But media reports later surfaced that some of the equipment purchased was obsolete and was not covered

by warranty.

As a matter of fact, sections of the Guyanese media reported that the Australia-based manufacturer, Barrett Communications, through its European office, distanced itself from the purchase. The company made it clear that it had ceased to produce the equipment more than five years ago.

Barrett said it had also tendered through the Advanced Office Systems for the supply of new radio equipment for the 2015 elections; however, GECOM subsequently cancelled the order. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has been calling for the release of the findings, in addition to questioning the deafening silence of GECOM’s then outgoing Chairman, Dr Steve Surujbally and the Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, on the matter.

Both were in power at the Commission when the purchases were made.

Slowdown

The proposed budget for the Audit Office of Guyana had been slashed by the Government side in the National Assembly during consideration of the 2017 Estimates of Expenditure, and subsequently, the situation had forced the Audit Office to grapple with not having adequate staff, or adequate funds to pay them.

The Audit Office has a wide remit, and is responsible for auditing the public accounts of Guyana and presenting reports of those audits to the Finance Minister, thence to the National Assembly. As laid out in Article 223 of the Constitution of Guyana, the Audit Office is authorised to audit all officers and authorities of the Government, including Commissions.

Questions have thus been raised about the effect the reduced staffing would have on the work of the Audit Office.

The proposed estimate for the Audit Office in the last budget was $771.2 million for that constitutional agency, which is tasked with auditing ‘the State apparatus’, but Finance Minister Winston Jordan had decreased this sum to $754.9 million, owing to claims of financial restraints.

Shine Ride

Dear Diary, Is me Nagga Man again. Ah cyaan believe how dese people bad minded, so. Yuh believe dey bring up dat new cyaar story again? Dat story like dem silent fart…’e jus’ na go ‘way. But is je’lous, dem je’lous.

I is de Prime Moocher of dis land! Is wha’ wrang if me get wan shine ride? Me whole life I waitin’ fuh a shine ride fuh show dem bais in Berbice how me tu’n Big Shat!!. An’ when I get waan, yuh t’ink me guh get wan ordinary waan?? Schuups!!

Edge Bill bring up wha’ mek de Big Toyota Lan’ Cru’sah tek suh laang fuh delivah. Well as de Prime Moocher of dis land, dem had to prepare de cyaar special. No Dear Diary….was na fuh mek am bullet proof. Who guh shoot me? Ev’rybady know me na gat none powah. Me like Chrismuss Blow Blow.

Naa…was somet’ing dat show me na fo’get me root.

Me a wan “son a de sile.” Dem had fuh put in wan bar fuh me! And dat is why de price jump from $13.5 million to $22 million. Was no ardinary bar. Dis wan can mek bush rum jus’ like how abee use fuh mek am at de Sea Wall in Berbice!!

And Edge Bill wan’ fuh know wha mek dem had to pay all de money right away. Well, Dear Diary, like Edge Bill a wan priest or wha? Like ‘e na know about Bush Rum. Yuh t’ink anybody guh put wan Bush Rum still in wan cyaar, befo dem get deh money?? Dat t’hin can blow up anytime!! Schuups…

Dear Diary, I done wid dem. I goin’ to me cyaar fuh tek wan drink ah dat good, fresh Bush Rum!!

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WEDNESDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

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wednesDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

13 PPP condemns charge against Deeds Registrar news

WEDNESDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

– accuses Govt of illegalities, wanton criminality

T

he People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has condemned a move by the State to institute fraud charges against Registrar of the Deeds Registry, Azeena Baksh, who was placed before the courts on Tuesday on a charge of btaining money by false pretence.

The State is alleging that between May 1, 2014 and January 31, 2017, the 33-year-old pregnant woman procured valuable securities in the total sum of $4.5 million while pretending she was an employee at the Deeds and Commercial Registries. She was placed on $250,000 bail after pleading not guilty to the charge.

However, the PPP in a statement on Tuesday evening said that there is an intensification of the “political witch-hunting” by the coalition Government with the latest victim be-

ing Baksh, “a young professional Guyanese and attorney-at-law, who decided not to venture into lucrative private practice but who choose instead to serve the State and work for a fixed salary.”

The Registrar’s father is former Minister Ali Baksh, and the party believes this is a contributing factor to the attacks on her since he is also a PPP leader.

According to the Opposition Party, this new practice by Government has reportedly not been going down well with law enforcers.

“Those who are being instructed to draft and institute these charges are either rebelling silently or have abandoned their professional training because the charges are beginning to move from frivolous to ludicrous,” the missive outlined.

Deeds Registrar Azeena Baksh

The Party went on to outline that even the legal minds who have looked at the charges filed so far, have expressed the public view that the charges will never be supported by evidence and are all bound to fail. “More significantly, all these charges either relate to some contrived and concocted factual scenario fabricated simply to form the

basis of the charge, as in the ‘law books’ case and Azeena Baksh’s case or, they concern the omission to perform some clerical function, which is not part of the functional responsibility of the person who is charged, for example the Guyana Rice Development Board of Directors,” the PPP noted.

On the other hand, the Opposition is alleging that every day the nation is witnessing the commission of major irregularities, grave illegalities and wanton criminality committed by Ministers of this Government, Permanent Secretaries and other senior functionaries, which are bleeding the Treasury of billions of dollars, yet these people are neither investigated nor charged.

Among these atrocities named by the PPP are: the 50 per cent increase in salaries; the D’Urban Park

Development Project and the involvement of a company owned by a Minister and cronies of this Government; write-off of debts owed to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) by DDL and many other companies, and write-offs by the APNU/ AFC dominated Georgetown Municipal Council to many companies for millions of dollars owed in rates and taxes.

The Opposition also mentioned Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan violating the statutes governing the local government system by appointing Mayors and Deputy Mayors; the controversial Parking Meter Project and no public tendering of the contract; and the drug bond contract between the Public Health Ministry of and the Linden Holding Company was not tendered and costing the Treasury $14 mil-

lion per month to store condoms and lubricants.

The missive further highlighted the scholarships to Ministers costing the Treasury millions of dollars; rental of houses for Ministers costing the Treasury thousands of US dollars per month; billions of dollars of contracts being awarded to friends, cronies and financiers without any form of public bidding; abuse of the Contingency Fund by the Ministry of the Presidency for the purchase of luxury vehicles for the Prime Minister, and Public Health Minister Volda Lawerence violating procurement procedures in respect of the purchase of $2.2 billion in drugs.

The PPP said it hopes the nation, the diplomatic community and the world takes notice of the pace at which Guyana is sliding into lawlessness.

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guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, may 24, 2017

News

AG “hiding” from being served court order – Nandlall A

n announcement from the Attorney General’s chambers that a board for the Deeds and Commercial Registries will be appointed after legislation is passed is not going down well with the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

According to former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, AG Basil Williams’s compliance with the Constitution and a court order compelling him to appoint the board should not hinge on such an excuse.

In fact, Nandlall is contending that Williams has been avoiding being served the court order by marshals. Purposefully avoiding a court order is a known tactic by respondents to prevent legal proceedings from going into effect.

“Since yesterday (Monday), the AG has been evading personal service of (Justice Nareshwar) Harnanan’s order by marshals of the High Court, as is required by law, by hiding out in his office,” Nandlall charged.

“The AG is, therefore,

demonstrating utter disregard for the Order of Justice Harnanan and is aggravating the contempt of court,” Nandlall stated on Tuesday.

The former AG stressed that the announcement by the Attorney General of the impending appointment of a new Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries must not be misinterpreted.

According to Nandlall, it is another example of the AG’s disregard for the order of Justice Harnanan, which was issued on April 19, 2017. The order had upheld Nandlall’s arguments.

Nandlall had said that the Board was non-functional, not properly constituted, and was without a meeting for more than a year. Further, the Opposition parliamentarian had argued that Williams’ act of not appointing a board constituted multiple breaches of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority Act. “That order of the learned Judge compelled the Attorney General to appoint persons to the

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall

Governing Board, in accordance with the provisions of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority Act, which he has failed and refused to do, since May 2016,” Nandlall said.

“In the court proceedings, his excuse for not appointing the Board in accordance with the said Act, was that he laid a Bill in the National Assembly to amend the Act, and that he was awaiting that amendment to pass in the National Assembly.”

Nandlall pointed out, however, that the pend-

Suspects confess to deadly Corentyne piracy attack – as MCU cracks another case

T

wo of the five suspects in custody for last week’s piracy attack on the Corentyne River which resulted in the death of the captain of a fishing vessel have reportedly confessed to carrying out the attack.

Guyana Times was reliably informed that the confession was made after the feared Major Crimes Unit (MCU) of the Guyana Police Force took over the case on Tuesday morning.

The suspects reportedly buckled under intense interrogation and confessed to the crime, giving details of the attack and how the now dead captain and his crew were ordered to jump overboard.

Police on Saturday were able to recover the stolen boat engine, after one of the suspects provided information to the investigators. The engine was found in a warehouse at Albion.

Last Tuesday, three fishermen were attacked by two

pirates along the Corentyne River. The captain of a fishing boat, Mahadeo Ramdial, also called “Chico”, age 46, of Lot 146 Kilcoy Squatting Area, Corentyne drowned in the attack.

The two survivors – Parmanand Nandan, 21, of Tain, Corentyne and Arjune Permaul, 45, of Kilcoy Squatting Area – reported they were all told to jump overboard. (More details will be provided in tomorrow’s edition)

Stand with us: Venezuelan Ambassador appeals for Caricom help

V

enezuela has not closed its doors to possible intervention from its Caribbean neighbours. In fact, according to Venezuela’s ambassador to Guyana Reina Diaz, Caracas needs that support in the face of the country’s deepening political crisis.

At a news conference in Georgetown on Monday, Diaz urged Caribbean Community (Caricom) Member States to stand with the Nicolás Maduro Administration which has been rocked by violent anti-government pro-

tests.

For eight straight weeks, angry demonstrators, including Opposition forces and various civil groups, have taken to the streets demanding fresh elections. They blame Maduro for the economic crisis they say has caused shortages of food, medicine and basic supplies.

The death toll has climbed to 49, according to international media reports.

Diaz stressed that the Venezuela Government remains committed to holding

peaceful dialogue to ease the tension, even as she pointed fingers at “radical sectors of the political Opposition”.

The Ambassador’s call for help comes on the heels of a meeting of Caricom foreign ministers in Barbados last week that denounced outside interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela. While condemning the ongoing violence and the loss of life and property, the regional officials unanimously agreed that CARACAS should be allowed to resolve its internal issues.

(Excerpt from Caribbean360)

ing Bill in the National Assembly was “absolutely irrelevant” to the Attorney General’s obligation to comply with and obey the law that was currently in force. That law is the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority Act 2013.

“The fact that a law is likely to change is no basis not to comply with the law; the law must be obeyed at all times until, and unless, it is amended or repealed.

It is in those circumstances that the Judge rejected the AG’s submissions, upheld mine and ordered him to appoint a Governing Board in accordance with the DCRA Act. “What the AG has done is to continue to refuse to appoint the Board in accordance with the said Act, and in flagrant breach of the Judge’s order, has proceeded to announce a Board in accordance with the Bill that is pending in the National Assembly, which Board, he says will be appointed after that Bill is enacted.”

Over

In contempt the

weekend,

Attorney General Basil Williams

Nandlall had stated that he would be filing legal action at the High Court some time this week against Williams for failing to comply with the court order.

“This week, contempt of court proceedings will be filed against him, in which the High Court will be asked to commit him to Camp Street Prison for failing to obey the order,” Nandlall had said.

He had also revealed that measures were taken to get the court order served to Williams, including his lawyers writing him

a letter in which the order was enclosed.

Not long after Nandlall’s statement was published, the AG chambers had issued a statement of its own, promising the appointment of the Board after the amendments were laid in Parliament.

The window of opportunity for the Attorney General to be served with the court order is rapidly closing, after the recent announcement by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, that Williams would soon be embarking on an overseas trip.

Williams is expected to attend the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force steering group meeting in Trinidad from May 28 to June 1. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the task force.

Asked on Tuesday whether he would proceed with the contempt of court proceedings, Nandlall stated that he would, as soon as possible.

Efforts to contact the Attorney General were futile.

wednesDAY, may 24, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

15

Around the World

Sir Roger Moore, James Bond actor, dies aged 89

Manchester attack

British Police name suicide A bomber, May condemns ‘sickening’ attack

People take part in a vigil for the victims of an attack on concert goers at Manchester Arena, in central Manchester, Britain May 23, 2017

B

ritish police on Tuesday identified the suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including children, in an attack on a crowded concert hall in Manchester, and said they were trying to establish whether he had acted alone or with help from others.

The man suspected of carrying out Britain's deadliest bombing in nearly 12

years was named as Salman Abedi, aged 22, but Police declined to give further details about him.

US security sources, citing British intelligence officials, said he was born in Manchester in 1994 to parents of Libyan origin. He is believed to have travelled by train from London before the attack, they said.

The attacker set off

his improvised bomb as crowds streamed out of the Manchester Arena after a pop concert by Ariana Grande, a US singer who is especially popular with teenage girls.

"All acts of terrorism are cowardly," Prime Minister Theresa May said outside her Downing Street office after a meeting with security and intelligence chiefs.

"But this attack stands out for its appalling sickening cowardice, deliberately targeting innocent, defenceless children and young people who should have been enjoying one of the most memorable nights of their lives."

Islamic State, now being driven from territories in Syria and Iraq by Western-backed armed forces, claimed responsibility for what it called a revenge attack against "Crusaders", but there appeared to be contradictions in its account of the operation. Police raided houses in Manchester and arrested a 23-year-old man.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye on trial for corruption

S

outh Korea’s former President, Park Geunhye, has denied corruption charges at the start of a criminal trial that could send the country’s first female leader to prison for life.

Prosecutors accuse Park of abusing her power and colluding with her longtime friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure major South Korean companies such as Samsung into paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes in return for business favours.

Park’s secretive and allegedly corrupt relationship with Choi, along with wider revelations about the cozy ties between South Korea’s political and economic elites, sparked mass protests, ending in Park’s impeachment last December and her removal from office by a constitutional court ruling in March.

Earlier this month, the country elected Moon Jaein, a left-leaning liberal, by a landslide in an election called after Park’s indictment. Moon, a former

Park Geun-hye at the Seoul central district court in South Korea

human rights lawyer, has vowed to punish leaders of the country’s chaebol conglomerates found guilty of committing crimes, and to challenge the collusive relationship between politics and big business.

Police had escorted Park, in handcuffs, into court for her first public appearance since she was jailed last

month over the corruption allegations.

Park has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at the trial. Asked if she had anything to add, Park said: “I will say afterwards.” Park is facing a 120,000-page charge sheet, according to South Korean media, and a total of 18 charges.(Excerpt from The Guardian)

ctor Sir Roger Moore, best known for playing James Bond, has died aged 89, his family has announced. He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and A View to a Kill.

Sir Roger's family confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he had died after "a short but brave battle with cancer". The statement, from his children, read: "Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people."

"With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated," they said in a Twitter post.

The actor took the character of James Bond in a more humorous direction than his predecessor Sean Connery.

Sir Roger's Bond was calm and suave – a smooth operator who could seemingly get

Sir Roger is survived by his three children and wife Kristina Tholstrup

himself out of a tricky situation with ease.

The veteran star, who died in Switzerland, will have a private funeral in Monaco in accordance with his wishes, his children said.

"The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone," read the statement

from Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.

Along with his famous Bond role, Moore was also known for TV series The Persuaders and The Saint. Sir Roger was also well known for his humanitarian work – he was introduced to UNICEF by the late Audrey Hepburn and was appointed as a goodwill ambassador in 1991. (Excerpt from BBC News)

India ‘bombs Pakistan army posts’ in Kashmir

I

ndia's Army says it bombed Pakistani army posts along the de facto border dividing the two countries in Kashmir. Army spokesman Ashok Narula said the action had been taken to stop Pakistan's army from helping militants cross into Indian-administered Kashmir.

He told reporters that bringing down the number of militants in Kashmir would discourage local youths from taking up arms. Pakistan denied any of its posts had been

destroyed. The Indian army spokesman did not specify when the Pakistani posts were targeted but said it was "recent, very recent".

Army footage purported to show the destruction of a Pakistani army post in the Nowshera sector, near the Line of Control (LoC) dividing the disputed territory.

Pakistan's Army spokesman responded swiftly, rejecting India's account.

"The Indian claims of destroying Pakistani post along LoC in Nowshera Sec and fir-

ing by Pak Army on civilians across LoC are false," Major General Asif Ghafoor said.

The Indian claims come amid deteriorating relations between the two countries over Kashmir and other issues.

Indian-administered Kashmir has seen an upsurge of violence over the last few months. India blames Pakistan for inciting the unrest, a claim Islamabad denies. Disputed Kashmir is claimed by both countries in its entirety. (Excerpt from BBC News)

16 news

wednesdAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

Ruminations Guyanese man found Ramsammy’s APNU/AFC must apologise for claiming 17,000 fake dead in Trinidad pensioners in 2011 T T he body of a 50-yearold man was on Saturday recovered from a tourist attraction site in Trinidad where we was dumped after being murdered. Dead is Conrad Gittens of Guyana, who had been residing with relatives in Princes Town, South Trinidad.

According to reports from Police Officers stationed at Tableland Police Station on the Twin Island Republic, they were called to the Devil’s Woodyard (tourist attraction site in Trinidad) around 15:00h on Saturday afternoon, following the discovery of a body of a man which was dumped in a nearby drain.

A blood-stained stone was also retrieved within the area.

The body which was later revealed to be that of Gittens, was stabbed multiple times and Police believe his body was dumped after being murdered elsewhere.

Speaking to media operatives in Trinidad, estranged wife of the deceased, Nicole Gittens, relayed that her husband was ‘bar hopping’ with friends on Friday night.

She went on to say that the overseas-based Guyanese was last seen alive when he was with another woman at around 06:00h on Saturday morning.

The woman was subsequently greeted by homicide officers who were conducting investigations into the death of Gittens, during which they showed

Dead: Conrad Gittens

her pictures of her now dead husband to confirm his identity.

The mother of Gittens’ four children indicated that although they were estranged, she is aggrieved by the news of the death of

the father of her children.

The mother of four at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, pointed out that her late husband “was a mason and an all-rounder. If anyone ask for help he would do it, he never look for trouble or bacchanal with anyone. Yes, he used to drink and he would tell me nobody buys drinks for him, so nobody could tell him to stop.”

Relatives of the deceased residing in Guyana have been made aware of the incident and are mourning the loss of a loved one.

While Police Officers are yet to determine who murdered Gittens, an investigation has been launched in Trinidad.

CANU seeks int’l help...

FROM PAGE 9

Vieira was arrested on Thursday evening moments after stepping off a flight at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). CANU had previously reported that Vieira is listed on the shipping documents as the representative of Lall, who is the shipper of the consignment. Guyana Times understands that the biker was in Jamaica for the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship, but upon learning of the ongoing investigation, the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club suspended his racing licence, thus making him ineligible to participate in the action.

Nevertheless, the superbike racer was released

from custody on Monday and the arrest warrant that was issued for him last week was recalled by the Chief Magistrate the same day. Vieira, through his lawyer Latchmie Rahamat, provided a statement to investigators denying any culpability.

In addition, CANU said that the “suspected” girlfriend of the superbike racer was also taken in for questioning on Monday afternoon and subsequently released.

The drug enforcement agency pointed out that it has not instituted any charges against these suspects because it wants to have “enough evidence” to link the parties and the illicit substance in order to

ensure a successful prosecution, rather than to rush and come up short in the courts. Regardless, CANU still considers this recent bust, which unearthed 187 pounds of cocaine, a success since it was able to expose as well as put a dent in pockets of the financers of what it calls a “clandestine operation”.

Two Fridays ago, members of CANU swooped down on a lumber yard at Lot 227 Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo, where they conducted a search on a truck that was laden with several pallets of 1x6 dressed lumber that was being prepared for export to the United States.

During the search, several boards were reported-

ly drilled randomly and revealed a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine.

The truck was subsequently escorted to CANU Headquarters where the lumber was further examined and proved that each of the compromised boards had a dugout cavity with vacuum sealed plastic packets containing cocaine pasted therein. The illicit substance amounted to a total of 84.986 kilograms and carried a street value of $550 million.

At the time, four workers at the lumber yard were taken into Police custody but were released on Monday last after it was established that they were only contracted to transport the lumber.

he more we think things change, the more of the same we actually get. The APNU/AFC used to be the Opposition in Guyana, but things changed in May 2015 when they became the Government. Still the most important thing about APNU/AFC has remained the same – in Opposition and now in Government, Dr Leslie Ramsammy as separate political parties and as a coalition, they completely rely on unabated absurdities, perversions of the truth and facts and outrageous assaults on custom, normalcy and civility.

Because they lie so outrageously and clumsily, they are consistently exposed. But they are also barefaced and arrogant and, instead of apologising, APNU/AFC insult people with their mind-numbing bravado, like Moses Nagamootoo insisting with a straight face that APNU/ AFC never promised rice farmers $9000 per bag of paddy.

Hopefully, as a Nation we have not become so numb to the lies, misrepresentation, misdirection, bloviation and absurdities of APNU/AFC that we take them for granted. While it might be too much to expect them to apologise for their lies, we must never succumb to their arrogance. Even people who habitually pervert truth and facts, occasionally find it necessary to disown a lie they might have spun with intense passion and mighty vigour.

APNU/AFC owns one of those lies that decent people demand they apologise for. In 2010 and 2011, led by the AFC, both APNU and AFC as separate political parties and then as a coalition during the 2015 election campaign lied that they had evidence the PPP inflated the roll of pensioners with more than 17,000 fake names.

Claiming that the PPP had inflated the list of pensioners and that some $116 million monthly or about $1.3 billion annually were fraudulently being misappropriated, the AFC through the late Sheila Holder, Ramjattan, Trotman and Patterson, during the 2011 budget debate, announced they had done an investigation that proved there were at least 17,000 fake names on the pensioners list. During that debate and for years after they were joined by APNU, particularly people like Volda Lawrence, Amna Ally and others.

In fact, under the name of Sheila Holder, in the Stabroek News of February 24, 2011, the AFC published a detailed account of their allegation that the 44,000 pensioners included 17,000 bogus, non-existent pensioners. Together MPs from both AFC and APNU selfrighteously parroted the fake story with fervour and passion. Challenged by the PPP, the AFC barefacedly refused to submit the study they claimed showed the 17,000 fake names, but APNU joined them nevertheless.

Clearly, there was no scientific study. It was a perversion of the facts and the truth, a lie intended to support their false narrative of corruption at all levels of the PPP Government.

Now that they are in control of the Government, one would expect that they would remove the 17,000 fake names and that the 2016 and 2017 lists of pensioners would be dramatically reduced. But we find out that far from being reduced, the number of persons on oldage pension has risen from about 44,000 in 2011 to 50,100 today. They exposed themselves – their 2011 and subsequent claims were not based on facts, were madeup falsities, were blatant lies.

I have no doubt that the number of old-age pensioners is 50,100. But people like Ramjattan, Trotman, Patterson, Volda Lawrence and Amna Ally, were loud in their claims that the list could not be 44,000 in 2011. Even when the then Minister, Priya Manichand, made the list available for scrutiny by MPs, Ramjattan, Trotman, Patterson, Volda Lawrence, Amna Ally and others in APNU/AFC, were adamant that the list was massively inflated. How then could these people with a straight face explain that the list is now more than 50,000? Clearly they had lied and they made up a fake story to sell the false narrative of a corrupt PPP Government.

This is one of the many lies APNU/AFC fooled people with. With increasing life expectancy (from about 60 in 1992 to 70 in 2011, the list of pensioners had significantly grown. The rate of increase of the over 65 evidenced from 1992 to 2011 applied to the period 2011 and 2017 make the list of 50,100 realistic. If there is any decency still hidden somewhere in the makeup of APNU/AFC, the lie they peddled of 17,000 bogus pensioners is one they must apologise for, not to the PPP, but to the pensioners they deemed as ghost pensioners.

news

17

wednesDAY, may 24, 2017 | guyanatimesgy.com

CDC reports $8M flood relief bill, minus donations … 3000+ residents affected

T

he Guyana Government has expended almost $8 million from the national coffers so far to support the flood relief efforts ongoing in Regions Seven (CuyuniMazaruni) and Eight (Potaro Siparuni) which were hit by flash floods this past week when intense rains caused the Potaro and nearby rivers to overtop their banks, displacing or affecting in excess of 3200 persons.

Deputy Director of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Major Kester Craig, on Tuesday provided

been spent on the flights alone into the affected areas.

Providing an update on the impact of the flood by region, Major Craig observed that in the Potaro/ Siparuni locale, “Farmlands and homes in villages of Kaibarupai, Waipa, Chenapau, Itabac, Kanapang, Kopinang and Sand Hill Settlement were flooded.”

According to Craig, the flood waters reached as high as 25 feet in some areas.

He reported too that in addition to inundated homes, several acres One of the flood affected areas

According to Major Craig, “Residents of Kaibarupai were forced to evacuate uphill and construct temporary shelters.” Chuing Mouth, Kanapang, Itabac, Kopinang, Sand Hill Settlement and Chenapau were among some of the hardest hit areas in Region Eight, according to Major Craig.

assessments with a view to effecting emergency repairs.

In Region Seven, Major Craig said the full impact of the flooding is still being assessed.

He reported however that villag-

and Paruima were all flooded.

He said all of the farms in Kako have been flooded; some by as much as 15 feet while in Quebenan 80 farms have been affected.

According to Major Craig, crops in the farms have already started to wilt as the soil is still water logged.

While there has been no outbreak of water borne diseases, the CDC Assistant Director did point to a reported increase in mosquitoes in Kako.

Expanding on the relief efforts, Major Craig reported that 327 relief food hampers were distributed in Chenapau, Kaibarupai, Waipa, Sand Hill, Itabac, Kanapang.

Other official agencies involved in the relief efforts according to Major Craig, include the Public Health and Indigenous Affairs Ministries, the Guyana Water Incorporated, the Guyana Defence Force and the

State infrastructure

Table showing the extent of crisis in Region 8

an update on the inter-agency relief efforts, even as waters have begun to recede in some areas.

Major Craig met with members of the media at the CDC Headquarters, Thomas Lands, Georgetown and said that so far, $2.8 million has

of farmlands have also been threatened – some already under water. One of the hardest hit villages, according to Craig, is Kaibarupai where 113 residents were flooded, 26 of whom had their homes completely washed away.

The CDC Assistant Director reported that several State-owned infrastructures also suffered intense damage and pointed to the health post at Kaibarupai which was flooded.

He said the school at Itabac has since shifted and has become unstable.

Major Craig reported too that parts of the road from Itabac to Kanapang were damaged and has become impassable by vehicles and an engineering team from the Guyana Defence Force has since been flown into the area to conduct

The impassable road from Itabac to Kanapang

es of Kako, Kamarang (Warawatta), Jawalla, Waramadong, Imbaimadai, Philippai, Amokokopi, Quebenang

Amerindian People’s (APA) among others.

Association

18

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, may 24, 2017

ARCHIE

Check for any flaws or hidden details that can in(March 21- fluence your decision regardApril 19) ing a financial or tax matter.

Sticking to a format will be less conspicuous when dealing with bureaucracy.

ARIES

Strive to learn something

TAURUS new. Studying, doing some re(April 20- search and speaking to experts May 20) will help you sort out any con-

dilbert

fusion or uncertainty you have regarding your taxes, a medical issue or educational pursuits.

Break through barriers GEMINI (May 21- and look inward for answers.

June 20) If you concentrate on what you can do to make a difference, an unexpected opportunity will develop. A youngster will offer insight.

CANCER (June 21July 22)

Peanuts

LEO (July 23Aug. 22)

Calvin and Hobbes

You will need to be disciplined in all your pursuits.

Making an impulsive statement or change will be costly. Your time is best utilized making personal improvements.

Set goals, live up to your standards and expectations, and bring about changes that will make your life better.

Don’t let personal complications distract you or influence your financial strategy.

Learn all you can about VIRGO (Aug. 23- your options when dealing Sept. 22) with household matters or issues involving older relatives.

Don’t let anyone push you to make a snap decision.

Opportunity knocks. Don’t LIBRA allow anyone to stand be(Sept. 23tween you and what you want.

Oct. 23) Hesitation and procrastination will be your downfall. Observe what’s going on around you, and follow through with your plans. Choose to be successful.

WORD GAME

SUDOKU

Don’t worry about what SCORPIO others do. Use your intuition (Oct. 24to bring clarity to whatever Nov. 22) situation you face. If an idea or offer feels right, pursue it with gusto.

If you feel good about SAGITTARIUS something you want to do or (Nov. 23- someone you want to spend Dec. 21) time with, make plans to do so. New opportunities will set the stage for positive change.

solution for Last Published Puzzle

Keep life simple. Stay CAPRICORN close to home and avoid mat(Dec. 22- ters that involve government Jan. 19) agencies, institutions or large corporations. Stay focused on what others do or say.

Consider ways to bring AQUARIUS in extra cash. Don’t let your (Jan. 20skills, creative imagination Feb. 19) and innovative intelligence go to waste. Something you enjoy doing can bring in extra cash.

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” is not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed. To contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe, write to Word Game, Kathleen Saxe, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Copyright 2015, Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Take better care of your PISCES health and personal well-be(Feb. 20March 20) ing. Nurture relationships, but don’t give in to poor influences or take up bad habits because you want to fit in.

wednesDAY, May 24, 2017

19

Sohail replaces Akmal

U-20 World Cup

Mexico pick up valuable in Champions Trophy squad point against Germany U mar Akmal’s poor fitness has opened the door for Haris Sohail’s return to the Pakistan squad, in the Champions Trophy. The lefthand batsman last played for Pakistan in May 2015, scoring an unbeaten 52 in Pakistan’s win over Zimbabwe in Lahore.

He is expected to join the squad before the side’s warm-up game against Bangladesh on Saturday.

Sohail was among three batsmen, alongside Umar Amin and Asif Zakir, who were

Mexico and Germany played to a stalemate

M

exico secured what could prove to be a valuable point after playing Germany to a 0-0 draw in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup on Tuesday at Daejon World Cup Stadium.

The Tricolor now hold sole possession of second place in Group A on four points, leading the third-

place Germany by three points and trailing firstplace Venezuela – a 7-0 winner over Vanuatu – by two.

While Mexico struggled to generate a sustained offense, its goalkeeper, Abraham Romero, was the star. The 19-year-old Pachuca product made seven saves, including a point-

blank block on a Philipp Ochs effort at the right post late in the encounter.

Mexico produced a limited number of chances, but Edson Alvarez’s snapping header in the first-half forced goalkeeper into an acrobatic leap to parry the effort over the crossbar.(Sportsmax)

assessed at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) following Umar’s failed fitness tests in England. Based on reports submitted by the NCA trainer, PCB’s selection committee, headed by Inzamam-ul-Haq, picked Sohail to join Pakistan’s squad for the tournament that begins on June 1. Sohail had picked up a knee injury while sprinting ahead of the second Test at P Sara Oval in Colombo in 2015.

That forced Sohail to undergo an extensive rehabilitation program thereafter at NCA and had a surgery in Dubai which reportedly went unsuccessful pushing his career into doubts.

The PCB took over his case and sent him to England for yet

another rehabilitation program thus allowing him to make a comeback.

“I worked really hard for my comeback after battling with the injury for long,” said Sohail. “I have kept myself prepared...as a sportsman my aim is to perform and when I got dropped earlier it because of my injury and not

most eye-catching feature about his batting; in 21 ODI innings, he failed to reach double figures on just four occasions, averaging 43 at a strike-rate of 82.86.

However, a serious knee injury derailed his career, and there were even concerns that he might have to give up the game.

For Sohail, the call-up after two years almost felt like he was receiving his “debut callup”. He said: “When I got unfit, it was such a situation where I was in top form, runs were flowing, but falling unfit then was disappointing. I hope all my effort and struggle over the years pay off this time.”

Sohail has been prolific in List A cricket recently, having scored two fifties and a century in his last five games. Sohail’s left-arm spin might have also helped his cause for selection at a time when Pakistan’s lack of a proper allrounder is

because of my performance.

So I am sure Harris Sohail selectors have taken that into account while shortlisting my conspicuous. name. So all the hard work i have Pakistan squad: Sarfraz done is paying off.” The selection Ahmed (capt & wk), Ahmed marks a welcome return for Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Sohail, who had started his ODI Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib career brightly. In just his fourth Malik, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, international innings, Sohail had Fakhar Zaman, Fahim Ashraf, scored an unbeaten 85 to steer Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Pakistan home in a tense finish Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali, Shadab against New Zealand in Dubai. Khan In: Haris Sohail, Out: Umar His consistency was perhaps the Akmal (Cricinfo)

South Africa reassured by increased security

S

outh Africa have been given sufficient reassurances about security to be “comfortable” to remain in England following the terrorist attack in Manchester, according to team manager Mohammed Moosajee. Following the bombing at the Manchester Arena on Monday night, Moosajee admitted there were some concerns - especially because the team’s three-month tour ends with a Test in the city, where they are due to stay at a hotel close to the Manchester Arena - but he confirmed they are satisfied with the guarantees they have been given.

“The players are uneasy,” Moosajee said. “There was a lot of chatter at the breakfast table and I’m happy to say we’ve had constant communication from the ECB and the security manager.

There have been some reassurances and guarantees put in place that the security arrangements will be supplemented, starting today.

We’ve been told there will be more visible policing at the stadiums, at practice sessions as well as the hotels that we will reside at.

“The hotel we will stay at when we are in Manchester for the last Test match is walking distance away from where the events unfolded so there have been some genuine concerns and I think the process has started to make sure the players are reassured that arrangements are being made to try and keep them safe.”

Among the measures is the provision of a full-time security liaison officer, who the ECB has provided and who will remain with the South Africa squad for the entire duration of the tour. South Africa also have their own security team traveling with them. “Most teams travel with their own security team,” Moosajee said. “There are guys that travel ahead and do their own recces and intelligence. We are comfortable with the advice we get from our security team.”

The ICC has already put out a statement about security ahead

of the Champions Trophy, which will be held in London, Birmingham and Cardiff from June 1-18, following the ODI series between England and South Africa.

“We’re planning for all eight teams to be here,” said Steve Elworthy, the tournament director. “David Richardson [ICC chief executive] has been in contact with and has been emailing all the teams participating. There is certainly a communication channel open around this and that dialogue continues as we speak. It’s critical and paramount that we deliver a safe, impressive and exciting tournament for everybody involved.”

Moosajee said the information South Africa received from their own intelligence, as well as that of the ICC and the ECB, meant they never entertained the thought of going home early, although they will continue to monitor developments.

“If this had happened in another country in the world, that would be the first question people would ask: is the tournament at risk, is the series at risk? As long as people are feeding us the correct information and we trust our advisors - then as things stand, there was no mention of us even thinking of abandoning the tour.

If the intelligence information provided tells us something else then obviously we will have to reconsider.”

Along with condemning the attack as “abhorrent and despicable”, Moosajee also said the South Africa squad wanted to take a stand by not being intimidated in the aftermath of the incident. “I don’t think that as sportspeople, we should allow ourselves to be held ransom because otherwise you won’t have world events and you won’t have touring teams,” he said. “We’ve just got to make sure that we trust the system and we trust the people put in place to give us the necessary advice and reassurances.” (Cricinfo)

South Africa engaged in net practice at Headingley after being briefed about security

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Gordon Brathwaite:

Bolt, Gayle offer prayers for families of Manchester attack

ever constant, withstanding W the weather

est Indies batting star Chris Gayle and world’s fastest man Usain Bolt were among a number of high profile

T

was traversing the city looking for sporting action in the May-June rainy season, we spotted dozens of aspiring footballers working to develop their skills with Brathwaite.

The Rastafarian Coach said it was his civic duty to give back to the sport that put him in the spotlight and from which he benefited.

League (IPL) team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) also expressed his condolences.

“I wish a lot of courage &

Chris Gayle and Usain Bolt offered prayers for families of the Manchester attack

Some of the young players going through some football drills

hrough all weather patterns and circumstances, Gordon Brathwaite, former national football captain now Head Coach of Beacon Football Club, makes it his duty to be at the Parade Ground to take the youngsters of his club through their development routines.

Yesterday afternoon as Guyana Times Sport

prominently among them.

“Thought & prayers goes out to people of Manchester and all those who are affected,” Bolt said via social me-

According to the former national skipper, he is not just equipped to assist the young football prospects with their progress in the sport, but also to succour their social development.

The youth players are using these off-season training sessions as preparation for upcoming club and school competitions.

athletes to offer condolences to victims of the bombing attack in Manchester, England, on Monday.

The suspected terror attack, which took place following an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena, has left 22 dead and 59 people, including 12 under the age of 16, injured and taken to hospital.

As news of the attack spread across the social media landscape the athletes were among those expressing shock at the attack and quick to offer condolences to the families of the victims.

Bolt and Gayle featured

dia platform Twitter.

“Thoughts and prayers goes out to Manchester! #VerySad” Gayle said via the same communication medium.

India captain Virat Kohli, a teammate of Gayle at Indian Premier

strength to all those affected in the Manchester Bombings last night. Heartbreaking to hear the sad news,” Kohli said.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the terror attack.(Sportsmax)

Bitter Pakistan loss could prove good tonic for Windies – Browne RHTY&SC, Food For The Poor assist youth with W

wheelchair under “We Care Project” T he eight cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTY&SC) with the assistance of Food For The Poor (Guyana) presented a wheelchair to 15-year-old Surania Balkaran of Lot 47 Hampshire Village.

The presentation was done on Friday last at the RHTY&SC office located at the Area H Ground. It was an initiative done under the Club’s “We Care Project”.

Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster revealed that he had received a phone call from the Social Protection Ministry’s Children Protection Officer Christine Persaud on Thursday requesting the assistance, and he readily agreed to the request.

The RHTY&SC, MS, he stated, on a daily basis assists dozens of Berbicians under its “We Care Project”, which is administered by the eight cricket teams and the Club’s Social Development Committee. Under the “We Care” programme, residents are assisted with clothing, food hampers, fire disas-

RHTY&SC Assistant Secretary Simon Naidu, and cricketers Chanderpaul Govindan and Christopher Deroop hand over the wheelchair to Salina Budhoo and Christine Budhoo

ter assistance, pampers for children, wheelchairs for disabled persons and assistance for those unable to pay for medical treatment.

Most of these programmes, he stated, are done with the assistance of Food For The Poor.

The veteran Club Secretary/CEO hailed Food For The Poor as a champi-

on of the poor and downtrodden. The Club and Food For The Poor, over the years, have teamed up to assist thousands of Berbicians and, over the last decade, have donated more than $15 million worth of sport gear to clubs across Berbice.

These include football, volleyball, basketball, cricket, and table tennis equipment.

Only last month, they assisted cricket clubs and players with $2 million worth of bats, stumps, balls, batting pads and wicket-keeping gloves.

Meanwhile, Child Protection Officer Christine Persaud expressed gratitude to the RHTY&SC for the assistance rendered to Balkaran, who is physically incapable of moving without assistance. Her grandmother, Salina Budhoo, who received the wheelchair from RHTY&SC Assistant Secretary Simon Naidu, praised the Club for coming to the assistance of her granddaughter and making life easier for her.

The eight teams – Rose Hall Town Farfan and Mendes Under-15, Bakewell Under-17 and Second Division, Pepsi Under-19 and Intermediate, Metro Females and Gizmos and Gadgets Under-21 and First Division – have a mandate from the RHTY&SC management to complete 200 activities for 2017.

est Indies Chairman of Selectors Courtney Browne believes the heart-wrenching defeat suffered by the team at the hands of Pakistan last week could prove to be beneficial in the long run.

Needing to survive just one over and one ball to force an unlikely draw, the team was dramatically dismissed West Indies Chairman of for 247 at Windsor Selectors Courtney Browne Park, in Dominica, to that here are a bunch of give Pakistan a historic 2-1 series win. Fast young people that are actually showing some fight. bowler Shannon I think what it Gabriel was the would have done last player to be to the players is dismissed as a show them that rash stroke endwith that detered the team’s mination, with resistance with that passion in-form Roston they can go on Chase prepared to be competito face the final tive,” Browne told over.

Line and Length netDespite the diffiwork in a recent interview. cult nature of the match “Nobody wants to lose and overall series loss, which saw the regional but it shows fight and if you team recover from trailing look at the last number of Pakistan 1-0, Browne be- batters who you would call lieves it could provide a ton- tail-enders they really dug and worked very hard.” ic for both players and fans. in (Sportsmax) “It has shown the fans

sports

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21

FIFA World Cup

T&T set up US camp ahead of June 8 qualifier

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rinidad & Tobago’s 17-player World Cup squad travels Tuesday to the United States ahead of their World Cup qualifier against the Americans on June 8.

The team will train at the University of Colorado in Boulder, less than 30 miles away from the venue of the key encounter at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.

T&T is also slated to face host Costa Rica on June 13.

“We’ve got the two games against the U.S. and Costa Rica, so the idea has been to prepare the boys in the best possible way,” said head coach Dennis Lawrence.

“We have had five sessions at home with a group of players who have been able to help us start the preparations.

“The idea is to get there

T&T junior footballers will train at the University of Colorado

and try to acclimatize as quick as possible so we will be starting work there immediately. Seventeen players will be traveling on Tuesday. Some will be coming back because the final squad has not been selected

as yet. We expect to have the full contingent on June 4.”

The foreign-based trio of midfielders Khaleem Hyland and Levi Garcia, and defender Sheldon Bateau, are expected to join the side later in the week.

The full roster includes Goalkeepers: Adrian Foncette (Police FC), Marvin Phillip (no club), Jan-Michael Williams (North East Stars). Defenders: Daneil Cyrus (North East Stars), Carlos Edwards (Central FC), Curtis Gonzales (Defence Force), Triston Hodge (W Connection), Alvin Jones (DirecTV W Connection).

Midfielders: Hashim Arcia (Defence Force), Hughtun Hector (DirecTV W Connection), Nathan Lewis (San Juan Jabloteh), Leston Paul (North East Stars); Jomal Williams (Murcielagos FC/ Mexico). Forwards: Jamille Boatswain (Defence Force), Willis Plaza (East Bengal/ India), Akeem Roach (no club), Shahdon Winchester (Murcielagos FC/Mexico).

(Sportsmax)

Browne backs battling Windies to be competitive in upcoming series

W

est Indies chairman of selectors boss Courtney Browne has backed the regional team to put up solid performances in upcoming series against India, Afghanistan and England on the heels of a battling display against Pakistan.

An inexperienced West Indies team lost to Pakistan on home soil for the first time in history last week, following a 101 runs defeat in Dominica. Browne, however, believes that the result although disappointing may have given the team momentum heading into upcoming series. The team fought back from being 1-0 down, before coming up just short on a final day fight that could have levelled the series.

Chasing both Pakistan and Bangladesh for crucial ranking points, needed to secure a place in next year’s World Cup, the Windies will look for positive results against visiting India and Afghanistan, before a tour of England.

“I think we are looking for the guys to look very well against Afghanistan for India we would like the team to building on showing that we are ready to compete with the top-ranked teams that important for us,” Browne told Line and Length in a recent interview. “Going into England it will give the guys a lot more confident. The England tour is going to be a tough tour… but one thing we have seen from this bunch is that they are hungry and they work very hard.” (Sportsmax)

Courtney Browne optimistic of West Indies chances in upcoming series

History against T&T for USA, Costa Rica qualifiers – but Lawrence wants positive mindset

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rinidad and Tobago coach Dennis Lawrence has encouraged the team to adopt a positive mindset heading into crucial away World Cup qualifiers against the United States and Costa Rica.

Having re-kindled their faint chances of advancing to the tournament, with a home win over Panama in the previous round, the twin island republic will take the same goals into the USA match-up on June 8 and then to Costa Rica three days later.

The Trinidadians will, however, head into the encounters wary of the fact that the team boasts a poor record against both opponents.

In 17 World Cup qualifiers to date against USA, T&T have managed just two wins, and three draws. One of the draws

was registered in the United States, but that was in 1989.

The story is similar for Costa Rica, whom the team has never beaten, managing just three draws from 15 encounters. One of those draws was also in Costa Rica, but that was in 1985.

Despite the team’s dismal record away from home against its opponents in the next round, Lawrence is encouraging the team, who have very little room for error, to “believe”.

“Everybody understands that it’s not a nice place for us in terms of collecting points but we need to go there with the belief that we have to try and get points,” Lawrence told TTFA Media TV. “We have to try and believe that we can take points from there. What I try to emphasize is that we are leaving here and

T&T Head Coach Dennis Lawrence

we are actually starting with a point. We are not going there to give it away the point, we are going to try and add to it,” he added.

“It’s difficult but the idea is to try and take the next game.

When we get to Costa Rica we will deal with that, but the idea is to try and get over the next game. We must try and go into the game positive and brave and come away with a result.”

(Sportsmax)

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wednesdAY, may 24, 2017

GLTA/GBTI Tennis Open

Intense rivalry predicted in 2-week showdown T

he sixth edition of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Tennis Open promises to be another spectacular competition, where top and emerging tennis players will showcase their skills.

This year, the two-week tournament, which serves off on Saturday, June 2, will feature 13 categories, with the junior male division predicted to be the most competitive with players like reigning champion Heimraj Resaul, Jordan Beaton, Mark McDonald and Joshua Kalekyezi, all vying for the summit in this event.

Who will emerge victorious in the respective categories will be decided on the court, but there are some key names who will be competing for top honours in this year’s tournament.

Last year, the hysteria surrounded the ladies’ cat-

Last year’s Mixed Open Doubles winners Anthony Downes and Afruica Gentle

egory which saw archrivals Afruica Gentle and Nicola Ramdyhan going head to head in the final that ended in favour of the former. This time around, that will not be the case in that group, which lost most of its hype owing to the absence of Ramdyhan, who is currently overseas enhancing her skills.

Gentle, who recent-

ly won the Girls’ Under-18 Sheltez/Homesafe Security Independence Cup, is touted as the favourite to retain the title in the ladies’ phase of the GBTI Tournament.

But if she is as faulty as she was in her most recent match against one of her main rivals, Kalyca Fraser, she could end up surrendering the title to prospects like Aretta Dey

or Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan or Cristy Campbell.

Unlike Gentle, Fraser is forecast to have very difficult times on the court against opponents like Sarah Klautky and Ciara Pooran. However, if Gentle disregards her eligibility to play in the junior girls’ category, Fraser will enter as favourite.

The men’s open category reigning champion, Anthony Downes, will have an additional hurdle to surpass if he is to maintain supremacy in this event. This segment will benefit from a coinciding visit from top player Daniel Lopes, who is also attending college in Florida. Jason Andrews and Ronald Murray are also key contenders in this department. The two-week tournament, which is organised by the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GTA) will see the Men’s Open Singles and Doubles, Ladies’ Open Singles and Doubles, Men’s Over-35 Singles and Doubles, Men’s Over-45 Singles and Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Junior Boys’ Open Singles, Junior Girls’ Open Singles and Novice Medley Singles and Doubles.

Full results for the categories in the GLTA/GBTI Tennis Open 2016: Girls’ Open Singles winner Kalyca Fraser and runner-up Shivani Persaud; Boys’ Open Singles winner Heimraj Resaul and runner-up Keenan Persaud; Men’s Open Singles winner Anthony Downes and runner-up Daniel Lopes; Ladies’

There are many predictions about the outcomes of this year’s GBTI Tournament

Open Singles winner Afruica Gentle and runner-up Nicola Ramdyhan; Men’s Open Doubles winners Anthony Downes/Harry Panday and runner-ups Nicolas Fenty/ Leyland Leacock; Ladies’ Open Doubles winner Cristy Campbell/Afruica Gentle and runner-ups Aretta Dey/Nicola Ramdyhan; Mixed Open Doubles winners Anthony Downes/Afruica Gentle and runner-ups Aretta Dey/

Daniel Lopes; Men’s 35 and Over winner Leyland Leacock and runner-up Godfrey Lowden; Men’s 45 and Over winner Godfrey Lowden and runner-up Harry Panday; Novice Singles winner Asif Subhan and runner-up Devon Gonsalves; Novice Medley Doubles winners Patricia Hope/Martin Campbell and runner-ups Asif Subhan/ Devon Gonsalves.

Cold Fusion defeat Canal Number 2

Z

The winning Cold Fusion team

eelugt’s Cold Fusion made light work of Canal Number 2 in their feature 35-over friendly encounter, played last Saturday at the latter’s ground (aback of Kawall Primary School).

Set a modest 111 for victory, after limiting the host to 110 all out in 34.2 overs, Cold Fusion romped to victory in 26.3 overs, losing four wickets in the process.

The main scorers for the eventual winners were Trevayne Mohabir (28), skipper Mark Jeffers unbeaten on 19 and Mark Mohabir 19 not out. For Canal Number 2, national youth player Kheshram Seyhodan grabbed three for 26.

Earlier, Canal Number 2 were indebted to a fine even half century from Satrohan Ganesh who received sol-

id support from Tajnauth Jadunauth (22).Vickram Mangra and Kenny Holder claimed 3-11 and 3-12 respectively.

Canal Number 2 comprised four Under-19 players and seven between the ages of 15 and 17 while Cold Fusion had three eight yearolds, three 15-16 years and five under-14s.

guyanatimesgy.com

wednesDAY, may 24, 2017

49

By Michelangelo Jacobus

S

ome 49 athletes will be representing Guyana at the upcoming South American Youth Championship on June 3-4.

This was revealed by the Guyana Team Manager, Cornell Rose at a press briefing on Tuesday morning at the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) headquarters.

The initial number was 50; however, it was later disclosed that high jumper Natrena Hooper, who recently won bronze in the women’s high jump at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, was injured during training forcing her to pull out of the South American Games.

Of the 49 athletes,

athletes to represent Guyana at South American Youth Championship 27 are male and 22 female; CARIFTA medallists Compton Caesar, Anfernee Headecker and Claudrice McKoy are among those representing the host nation.

Athletics Association Guyana (AAG) President Aubrey Hutson at the briefing told media operatives that preparations for the hosting of the Games were “on-stream”, noting that all participating countries have submitted their lists of athletes with the exception of Chile and Panama who have asked for an extension of time to submit their lists.

This delay, he noted, is on account of ongoing events in the two countries.

Guyana’s athletes will be participating in all events except non-traditional ones such as the decathlon, hep-

Christianburg pip New

Silvercity to take Edward "Screw" Richmond U-18 Schools title

Top striker Omar Brewley (left) and Best Midfielder Andre Major (right) both struck to ensure Christianburg/Wismar reigned supreme

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23

he Christianburg Wismar Secondary schoolboys beat their New Silvercity counterparts to take their fourth title in the Edward “Screw” Richmond U-18 Schools tournament.

The trophy returned to the Christianburg Wismar Secondary as they triumphed over New Silvercity Secondary 3-1 in the final on Thursday last at the Wisburg Secondary School Ground in Linden.

After falling in the semi-finals at last year’s championship and losing out at the Digicel National Schools final, the ‘Multi’ boys took the title for the fourth time, with Omar Brewley, their top striker, gaining the MVP award, as he netted twice for the champions. It was Brewley who began his team’s scoring in the 25th minute as he converted from a squared ball to take the lead. However, five minutes before the end of the first half, the New Silvercity side brought the game level through a stupendous strike from Emmanuel Atkins as the first half finished 1-1.

Christianburg Wismar would have the final say, as midfielder Andre Major was able to restore the lead when he netted in the 65th minute before Brewley put the game beyond their opponents two minutes later, with the final nail in the coffin for New Silvercity.

In addition to being named the MVP, Brewley also collected the Best Striker award, while his teammates carted off most of the prizes on offer. Major was named Best Midfielder, while Kevin Dornick claimed the Best Defender prize and Nicholas Gentle, Best Goalkeeper. Their coach, Dellon Peters also copped the Best Coach of the Final accolade.

New Silvercity Secondary were named the Fair Play award winners, while Silvercity’s coach, Dwalon Farrel copped the Best Coach of the tournament title and also walked away with the inaugural James Craig Memorial Award, so named in honour of Craig, who was the Organising Secretary for the Linden Chapter of the Edward “Screw” Richmond Foundation and passed away last year.

AAG President Aubrey Hutson poses with tickets

tathlon, pole vault, hurdles (except the 400m hurdles), and the hammer throw.

As the Games are fast approaching, the athletes will get some much-needed time on the track this weekend as they compete in the Independence Track and Field Meet on May 27 and 28.

Rose noted that the team were looking good and the chances of Guyana being hugely successful at the Games were “99 per cent”.

Since Guyana has never hosted events such as the pole vault and hammer-throw, the AAG sought to have the pole vault pits and hammer-throw cages locally manufactured to the specifications of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Local manufacturer Kissoon is responsible for the production of the pole vault pits, while engineer-

ing firm INFAB gained the contract to manufacture the cage. This is owing to the “huge costs” of importing the latter, according to AAG President Hutson.

Tickets have already been printed and cost $500; tickets give fans access to the stands in either the morning or afternoon periods. The cost of the tickets is “very reasonable”, Hutson pointed out, highlighting that this was after all an international event, the first of its kind in Guyana.

Tickets may be purchased from the Leonora synthetic track, the AAG head office on Light Street and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) head office.

The event will feature more than 350 international athletes and is expected to attract many overseas visitors.

Sports is no longer our game, it’s our business

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017

guyanatimesgy.com

Pg 20

Gordon Brathwaite: ever constant, withstanding the weather Beacon youth players were on Tuesday involved in some high-intensity training under the watchful eyes of former national captain and football coach Gordon Brathwaite

Pg 23

49 athletes to represent Guyana at

South American Youth Championship AAG President Aubrey Hutson (third right) and Guyana Team Manager Cornell Rose (second left)

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